By Richard Woolcott
THERE is no doubt that having been prime minister is helpful in the foreign affairs, trade and security fields, both to Kevin Rudd and to Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
''I think I am making a difference,'' Rudd said in a recent interview. He has made a difference.
'Rudd is held in high regard by a number of regional leaders, especially Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.'Credit: Ray Strange
The world is now more inter-connected and complex with a number of larger countries seeking to assert greater influence. But it is the Asia-Pacific region in which the major power relationships most closely intersect. It is here that the template for the US-China relationship will largely be shaped.
An effective, culturally sensitive and co-ordinated policy approach is essential if Australia is to consolidate its standing and influence as the Asia-Pacific century unfolds. The requirement for a highly competent foreign minister, an engaged prime minister, a professional and well-resourced Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and a better-informed wider community has never been greater.
I know from visits to the region that Rudd is held in high regard by a number of regional leaders, especially Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. He also raised to a new level links with non-English-speaking leaders such as Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam, President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Gillard will soon have excellent opportunities to develop further relations, at heads of government level, with a number of leaders in coming months at a meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, as well as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the APEC heads of government meeting, and then the East Asian Summit, which is to be attended for the first time by presidents Barak Obama and Medvedev in Bali in November.
The main areas in which Australia has benefited from the difference Rudd has made, first as prime minister and then as Foreign Minister, are the evolution of the G20, which led to an agreed response to the Western financial crisis in 2007 and progress in the development of the Asia-Pacific community concept. Rudd's role in the G20 has been acknowledged by President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The promotion of an Asia-Pacific community has also been widely acknowledged, including by Clinton, as a good example of creative middle power diplomacy at work.
Rudd has been active, initially as prime minister and now as Foreign Minister, as has Gillard, in promoting Australia's candidacy for the Security Council for 2013-14.
Despite the shortcomings of the UN, it is important for Australia to play an active role in the council's efforts to resolve conflict, especially as our forces in East Timor and Afghanistan are there under council mandates.
Australia's contribution and role in the UN since it was founded are exemplary. On merit we should win. It would be better for our own region and for the UN itself to have Australia on the council rather than adding two more European countries.
Another area in which Rudd has made a valuable contribution is in the recently launched Australia-China 2.0 program. The most significant development in global affairs is, as I have mentioned, is the transformation of China as a result of its remarkable economic growth. Rudd has recognised this. He launched in Brisbane on June 24 the first of four forums to assist Australian business take advantage of the opportunities that China's rapidly expanding domestic market offers.
Planning for a senior trade mission to visit China in August is well advanced. By any measure this is a sound foreign and trade policy response to changes in China's economic planning.
There are also issues for which Rudd does not have primary responsibility as Foreign Minister but in which he has and can play a role in reducing difficulties for Australia, in particular those of live cattle exports to Indonesia and our present handling of asylum seekers. Australia always needs to be on its guard against regional neighbours' suspicions of undertones of racism and religious intolerance in our community.
These responses to the changing world and region will be critical in shaping Australia's future prosperity and security. Minority governments tend to be risk averse and preoccupied with immediate domestic political issues.
There is a danger that such governments can lose sight of important big-picture issues. The foreign affairs portfolio needs to be in experienced hands. It is and much has been achieved.
Richard Woolcott is a former secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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